


Memorial

by jinxed_wood



Category: Highlander: The Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-02
Updated: 2013-01-02
Packaged: 2017-11-23 09:10:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/620466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinxed_wood/pseuds/jinxed_wood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Methos needs a thief's delicate touch...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Memorial

**Author's Note:**

  * For [calime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/calime/gifts).



> Written for calime_33 for the hlh_shortcuts Secret Santa exchange!

Afterwards, she blamed it on boredom. Duncan had disappeared on one of his retreats, and Nick _still_ wasn't talking to her. To top it off, Bert hadn't gotten into hot water in _weeks_ and the club was practically running itself nowadays. Methos had caught her at a moment of weakness, damn it! And, of course, there had been the champagne...and the flowers...and that _divine_ caviare.

Say what you will about the old coot, he definitely knew the way to a woman's heart. Although, when he'd first mentioned a proposition, she'd thought he had something with more candles and possibly some silk sheets in mind.

“I have a heist with your name on it,” he'd purred.

“Hmm, tempting, but I'm a woman of repute nowadays,” she'd said. “I'm on the straight and narrow.”

“Dear me,” he'd said. “We'll have to rectify that.”

“What's in it for me?”

“My undying gratitude?”

“Try again.”

He smirked. “A ten percent cut?”

Amanda's eyes narrowed. “I can't exactly make an informed decision if I don't know what I'm getting a cut of,” she countered.

“Sorry, no can do, but I can assure you the item is quite literally priceless.

Excitement bubbled in Amanda's chest, despite herself. “Well then, I think a fifty percent cut is in order.”

“ _Fifty?_ That's daylight robbery. Make it twenty.”

“Thirty five percent,” Amanda said. “Unless you want to reveal what the item is and we can renegotiate?”

“Now, now, none of that. Besides, what's an adventure without a little mystery. Lets make it twenty five percent and I'll throw in a another case of this fabulous champagne.”

“Throw in a case of that darling Beluga as well and I'll consider it,” Amanda said. 

Methos grinned. “Amanda, my dear, you have a deal – now, let me top up that glass for you.”

~~~*~*~*~~~

I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Amanda sighed, sinking back into the car seat as he pulled out of the driveway.

“In my defence, you didn’t actually take a lot of convincing,” Methos said, a tad smugly.

“Oh please, you plied me with drink until I said yes,” Amanda said, rolling her eyes. “Oldest trick in the book.”

“Amanda, Amanda, you wound me, truly you do. One would think you didn’t trust me-” His phone hummed on the dashboard and Amanda did a double take as the word _Boyscout_ popped up on the screen. She snatched it up before Methos could reach it. 

“Nah-uh, eyes on the road,” she said, waggling her finger at him as she avoided his hand. “I’ll take care of this - good _evening_ , you have reached 1800 prehistoric nightmare, the one stop shop for all your ancient needs; beer appreciated, sage advice extra-”

“ _Amanda! What are you doing on Methos’s phone?_ ”

“I believe that’s my line actually,” Amanda said primly. “Didn’t you tell me yesterday that you were going to be trekking through the wilderness for the weekend? Completely incommunicado? As in no computer, no _phone_ -” 

“ _Um...yes, about that..._ ”

“Idiot,” Amanda pronounced. “I can’t believe you let him rope you into this.”

“ _Well, you know what they say, it takes one to know one,_ ” he drawled.

Amanda’s brows knitted together as she eyed the Immortal beside her. He had gone suspiciously quiet. 

“Duncan, darling, I’ll call you right back.” She hung up and folded her hands on her lap, letting the silence in the car drag on.

He cracked about five minutes in. “So there might be some guards,” he said. 

Amanda raised an eyebrow. “Anything else you omitted. Joe as the getaway driver, perhaps?”

“Don’t be ridiculous...I called Robert.”

It took a few moments for the name to click. “Robert De Valicourt? _That_ old pirate?”

“Privateer,” Methos said.

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Semantics,” she said. “You know what I mean! What sort of heist is this? I need details, Methos! What sort of private property has guards and...why are we pulling up to the back of Joe's bar? I though you said he wasn't involved!”

“He's not,” Methos assured her. “We're just borrowing his back room for a few hours. Come along, oh curmudgeonly one.”

Amanda resisted the urge to pout as she got out of the car and stomped down the side alley. She was supposed to be the fun and irresponsible one, breaking laws and hearts the world over. Since when did she sweat the small stuff?”

“I'm getting old, damn it,” she muttered to herself.

“Don't worry, you'll get over it,” Methos said with a smirk, earning a slap on the arm for his troubles. He tapped on the door and it opened a sliver. 

“Took your time,” Duncan muttered as he stepped back to let to let them in. 

“Ah, Amanda, darling, how lovely to see you again,” Robert said with an easy smile as he looked up from the floor plans unrolled on the table. “What fun, eh? Almost like the good old days. Have a look at this.”

Giving Methos and Duncan an arch smile, she approached the table and peered down. Wait... there was something strangely familiar about this building... 

“We're breaking into the Watcher's headquarters - _again_? Are you _mad_?” 

“Shh, keep your voice down,” Methos muttered. “We're not supposed to be here, remember?”

“ _Methos_ , Joe will be the least of our problems if they catch us. How close were you to being beheaded last time?”Amanda whirled around and poked Duncan in the chest. “And _you_ , you should know better. I expect this from Methos, we all know he's a few shillings short of a pound-”

“Hey! Standing right here, you know.”

“-but you're supposed to be the voice of reason.” Amanda continued, ignoring him.

Duncan shrugged, his cheeks turning slightly pink. “Well, you know how it is. He brought some wine over, cooked dinner...”

Amanda's eyes narrowed. She didn't know whether to be annoyed or impressed that Methos had successfully used the same technique on them both. She was definitely going to have to be more on her guard around the old bastard. She glared at Robert, who was watching the two of them with an amused glint in his eye. 

“So how did he convince you?” she asked.

“Well, he didn't ply me with wine and cook me dinner, if that's what you're asking,” he said. “I feel quite hard done by.”

~~~*~*~*~~~

“So, one more time before we get out,” Methos said, as Amanda reached for the door handle. “You and I will take care of the security system and retrieve the item, Duncan will be our look-out, and Robert will keep the engine warm.”

Amanda smiled winningly. “I don't see why you don't just tell us what the item is, Methos. I'm more than capable of retrieving it all by my lonesome. Why put yourself in unnecessary danger? After all, they know who you are now. There might be probes and torture involved if they catch you this time and we wouldn't want _that_.” 

Methos smirked. “So nice to see you so concerned for my health, Amanda, but if I didn't tag along, who'd be the cat wrangler?”

“Cat wrangler?” Robert muttered. “What kind of cat are we talking about?”

“The wily kind,” Duncan said dryly. “Come along kitties, time to climb a wall or two.”

“I should have held out for the champagne,” Robert muttered as he found himself alone in the car.

~~~*~*~*~~~

“Really, Methos, you could have mentioned the room is hermetically sealed. Now I can't check for laser sensors until after I open the door!” Amanda huffed, as she tapped into the key panel and ran the pass code generator on her computer.

“Well, look on the bright side, at least we haven't tripped over any felines this time around.”

“You realise you've just jinxed us, don't you?” Amanda sighed.

“Don't be silly! It's going swimmingly. All will be well.”

She threw him a disbelieving look. “You did that on purpose, didn't you?”

“As if I would.”

The keycode panel chirped, the door slid open and Amanda couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement as a roomful of glass encased artifacts revealed itself. She lit up her cigar and took a few puffs before blowing the smoke into the room and sliding her infra red glasses onto her nose. As luck would have it, there were no lazer sensors. Watcher security was really sliding. 

“Well?” Methos asked.

“We're good,” she said as she slipped into the room. “Which case is it?” Her eyes grew wide as she took in the various treasures displayed under the glass. A golden torc from the 7th BCE. A circlet crown bedecked with rubies from the 8th century CE. She eyed the brass plaques mounted on the glass to see if they gave an indication of provenance.

Which they did, after a kind. 

“Baenis, of England. 859 CE to 1832 CE,” she murmured, frowning as she felt a sudden uneasiness. What was this, a museum or a trophy room? She scanned the room, counting the cases, each with a brass plate. Thirty two, not that many when one knew how many immortals had lost their lives over the years. She wondered why these Immortals merited a memorial when so many others were forgotten or tidily filed under the deceased column. 

“Amanda,” Methos hissed. “Come and help me with this.”

Sighing, Amanda joined him and looked at the enamelled scroll case with its gorgeous La Tene patterning. Almost dreading the answer, she lifted her eyes to read the name.

_”Darius.”_

“Oh Methos,” she sighed. “You could have just _said_.”

And that was when the alarm went off.

~~~*~*~*~~~

They nearly didn't make out but, luckily, Robert was a sloppy pirate and had forgotten to roll back up the building's floor plans.

“Why am I not surprised,” Joe muttered, as he opened the back door just in the nick of time and irritably ushered them through. “And what's with the amateur hour?”

“Well, how was I to know they'd added heat sensors to the room,” Methos protested.

“Hey, welcome to the 21st century, be thankful this isn't the New York branch. They installed retinal scans last year.”

“I'll keep that in mind,” Amanda said brightly.

“I wasn't giving you tips, for Christ's sake... and, if anyone asks, you forced me to open that door at _gunpoint._ ”

Does anyone even _believe_ that anymore?”

“Scoot!”

~~~*~*~*~~~

The champagne was French, the caviare was Beluga, and the note was annoyingly evasive. Amanda wrinkled her nose and passed it to Duncan.

A shadow passed across his face as he read it. “He's never going to tell us what the scroll said, is he?”

Not having the words, Amanda placed a warm hand over his.

~~~*~*~*~~~

It was Joe who eventually explained to her what the room was, once she'd plied him with enough good food and scotch. Never let it be said Methos had never taught her anything.

“They're our mistakes,” he'd told her softly. “Reminders of when we crossed the line. So we don't do it again.”

Amanda felt her mouth go dry, remembering her initial reaction to the room. She wondered how many Watchers stepped into that room and saw a different sort of lesson.

“Don't tell Duncan,” she said.

Joe gave her a long look. “Wasn't planning to,” he admitted eventually as he poured himself another glass. 

**FINIS**


End file.
